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AFDB, Researchers Unveil $63m Scheme for Agricultural Productivity And Poverty Alleviation

By on December 10, 2012

The African Development Bank, researchers have unveiled a $63.24m AfDB-funded scheme for agricultural productivity and poverty alleviation.

According to a statement from AFDB, the scheme will run for five years, known as “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa,” is a research, science, and technology development idea aimed at enhancing the productivity and income derived from cassava, maize, rice, and wheat.

It said cassava, maize, rice, and wheat are four of the six commodities defined as strategic crops for Africa.

Speaking at the inauguration of the scheme in Ibadan, the Director-General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Nteranya Sanginga encouraged researchers to deliver swift impact to rationalize the investments in research.

Sanginga said, “We should begin to demonstrate impact in the next two years using available technologies already developed. Everything in SARD-SC is about impact and not only writing scientific papers.”

The SARD-SC project comes at a time when food security and nutrition are high on the national agenda of the AfDB regional member countries, as rising food prices push millions of people into extreme hunger and poverty.